The Canadian Army opened what was called the Currie Barracks on the southwestern edge of Calgary in 1933, occupying a property on the level plateau above the south slope of the Bow River valley. The facility was named after the recently deceased General Sir Arthur William Currie, commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on the Western Front during World War I.
Over the next decade, the facility would house a combination of personnel from the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps and Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, along with personnel from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
During World War II, the Currie Barracks became an army training centre for units mobilized in southern Alberta; it was designated A-16. These mobilized units were tasked to provide reinforcements for The Calgary Highlanders and The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada.
Following the war in 1946, the Currie Barracks became home to Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) and 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry as part of Canada's transition to having an expanded regular force army during the early years of the Cold War. The Currie Barracks underwent rapid expansion during the Korean War as the facility transformed into a major military centre, owing to its convenient access to the Canadian Pacific Railway's transcontinental mainline to Vancouver three kilometres to the north. Headquarters Calgary Garrison was formed on October 26, 1950 in response to the need to coordinate the administration of army units stationed at and cycling through the Currie Barracks; thus the facility also began to use the names Calgary Garrison and Calgary Barracks.
Read more about this topic: CFB Calgary